Hemerocallis hybrid; Daylily.
xe2x80x98Apricot Sparklesxe2x80x99.
The present invention comprises a new and distinct Hemerocallis hybrid cultivar of the dormant type, and hereinafter is referred to by the cultivar name xe2x80x98Apricot Sparklesxe2x80x99.
The new cultivar is the product of a planned breeding program which had as its objective the creation of a distinctive new Daylily cultivar that is intended for use as attractive ornamentation in the landscape.
The cross that resulted in the production of the new cultivar of the present invention was carried out in a controlled environment during July, 1993, at Chadds Ford, Pa., U.S.A The female parent (i.e., the seed parent) was the xe2x80x98Sunny Honeyxe2x80x99 cultivar (non-patented in United States) and the male parent (i.e., the pollen parent) was the xe2x80x98Opportunityxe2x80x99 cultivar (non-patented in the United States). The parentage of the new cultivar can be summarized as follows:
xe2x80x98Sunny Honeyxe2x80x99xc3x97xe2x80x98Opportunityxe2x80x99.
The female parent displayed 8 to 9 cm golden yellow flowers, and the male parent displayed 8 to 9 cm light cream yellow (honey-colored) flowers.
Each of the parent of new cultivar is registered with the American Hemerocallis Society.
The seeds resulting from the above pollination were sown and small plantlets were obtained which were physically and biologically different from each other. A number of such plantlets were moved and transplanted to Bridgeton, N.J., U.S.A during early 1994. Selective study during the growing season of 1995 resulted in the identification of a single plant of the new and distinct cultivar of the present invention.
It was found that the new Hemerocallis hybrid cultivar of the present invention is of the dormant type and:
(a) Forms attractive apricot colored flowers with diamond dusting whereby the blooms glisten and sparkle in the sunlight and have substantial substance and a flat slightly recurved form,
(b) Displays a long blooming season with substantially conitnuous blooming,
(c) Exhibits a propensity to readily form a plurality of fans, and
(d) Readily forms a plurality of scapes per fan over the flowering season.
The xe2x80x98Apricot Sparklesxe2x80x99 cultivar resembles well-known culitvars, such as the xe2x80x98Stella De Oroxe2x80x99 cultivar (non-patented in the United States) and the xe2x80x98Happy Returnsxe2x80x99 cultivar (non-patented in the United States) in the sense that it commonly possesses an extremely long and substantially continuous blooming season of up to approximately 125 days in U.S.D.A Hardiness Zone No. 7A. Such blooming commonly begins during late May to early June and commonly ends during late September to early October. This compares to a bloom period of less than 30 days for most of the hybrid Daylilies that are presently available.
As indicated, xe2x80x98Apricot Sparklesxe2x80x99 exhibits attractive apricot colored flowers with diamond dusting that readily can be distinguished from the orange-yellow flowers of the xe2x80x98Stella De Oroxe2x80x99 cultivar and the medium yellow flowers of the xe2x80x98Happy Returnsxe2x80x99 cultivar. Also, neither the xe2x80x98Stella De Oroxe2x80x99 cultivar nor the xe2x80x98Happy Returnsxe2x80x99 cultivar display noticeable diamond dusting. To the best of the knowledge of the originator, xe2x80x98Apricot Sparklesxe2x80x99 is the first long and substantially continuous blooming Daylily having flowers that exhibit an apricot hue combined with diamond dusting. Such diamond dusting characteristic is discussed in the literature and is believed to be brought about by a superfluity of dye-enhancing agents, which are themselves colorless, belonging to a group of organic chemicals called flavonoids. Such effect commonly eludes depiction in a photograph but is readily apparent to the eye when the blossoms are exposed to direct sunlight.
The new cultivar has been observed to form up to 10 new fans per year. This compares to approximately 6 to 8 fans per year for the xe2x80x98Stella De Oroxe2x80x99 cultivar and the xe2x80x98Happy Returnsxe2x80x99 cultivar. Most Daylily cultivars from only approximately 2 to 3 fans per year. Also, the new cultivar commonly forms 2 to 4 scapes per fan during the flowering season, unlike most Daylilies that commonly produce only one scape per fan.
Asexual reproduction of the cultivar by divison was initially carried out during September, 1995 at Bridgeton, N.J., U.S.A. At the time of such asexual reproduction the original plant of the new cultivar consisted of a clump of twenty fans that were phenotypically identical to each other. More specifically, the clump of the new cultivar was removed from the field and the fans were divided. It has been demonstrated that the characteristics of the new culitvar are firmly fixed and are well retained following such asexual reproduction.
xe2x80x98Apricot Sparklesxe2x80x99 has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions to date. Accordingly, it is possible that the phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in the environment, such as temperature, light, day length, contact with pesticides, etc.